On the Walk: Participants in Relay for Life fight cancer with their feet

Folks in Lake Havasu City who want to find a cure for cancer aren't about to stand back and let other people do the work for them.

They turned out at the Lake Havasu High School running track bordering the football field Friday night for the first Relay for Life in the city, raising about $42,000 - nearly double the $25,000 goal they'd set.

Seventeen teams sent out at least one member to the track all night long from 7 p.m. to the next morning. Some of the nearly 90 walkers took a break during the night, leaving the truly dedicated trudging the route. At 9 p.m., walkers lit candles inside white bags placed around the track, each in memory of a cancer patient.

The event also singled out cancer survivors, recognizing them as they walked one lap around the track, each wearing a bright purple T-shirt. Those unable to walk rode in golf carts.

"We need to glory in the fact we have better technology now than in the past years to fight this disease," said State Sen. Ron Gould (R-Lake Havasu city), one of the speakers. "The sea of purple T-shirts shows how many survivors we have."

Several cancer survivors held a banner aloft as they walked around the track. Dee Madison, a seven-year breast cancer survivor and Dolly Zucchelli, a 10-month ovarian cancer survivor held a banner, as well as Dolly High, a three-year breast cancer survivor and Jean Blakeslee, a seven-year breast cancer survivor.

Fund-raising teams honored cancer patients they knew, such as the 25-member Duchess and Cohorts, which raised about $5,500 to claim second place in fund-raising. They remembered Maryann Kummelehne, nicknamed the "Duchess," who died in September.

Even as members grieved for their friend, they laughed uproariously as they donned the extravagant hats Kemmelehne wore as she lost her hair to cancer treatments.

They fitted each other in her jester hats, a fruit-covered hat, a turban with a huge flower, and jeweled hats. The team, whose members include six cancer survivors, said Kummelehne's courage inspired them to raise money.

Team members each sported a postcard showing Kummelehne spreading her arms wide, wearing a big smile as she relaxes in an oversized inner tube surrounded by water. Her picture is accompanied by this message she sends her friends, "I'm fine, never felt better and I love you all," and the dates of her life, June 18, 1945-Sept. 25, 2004.

That postcard also decorated a banner team members carried on the track.

Kummelehene's husband, Bob, was on hand, too, walking through the early morning hours when no one else could.

Teams also sold items and conducted raffles during the event. The Lake Havasu High School Choir sang several numbers, Heaven Sent Doves released doves during the opening ceremony and a military color guard presented the flags.

Teams collecting the most money were:

€First place: Happy Days.

€Second place: Duchess and Cohorts.

€Third place: Hospice of Havasu.

€Fourth place: Wild Things.

€Fifth place: All in the Family.

Relay for Life, already a fund-raising mainstay in many communities for the American Cancer Society, is expected to continue annually in Lake Havasu City, organizers said. It began in Seattle in 1985.

You may contact the reporter at sdunham@havasunews.com.